This Tool Is the Secret to Lump-Free Pasta Sauce

Our test kitchen swears by this tool for luscious Alfredo sauce, gravies, and more.

I’ll admit that I’m not a stranger to clumpy pasta sauce. I know all the tricks I’m supposed to use for a luscious, restaurant-worthy Alfredo or cacio e pepe sauce: finely grate the Parmesan or pecorino, whisk in the cheese slowly, add a little starchy pasta water so the sauce clings to each noodle. Yet I still find myself holding my breath when it’s time to emulsify my ingredients into a glossy pan sauce. But when working on our Chicken Tortellini Alfredo, recipe developer Julia Levy clued me in to a tool that just might change my pasta game forever: a flat whisk.

“This is one of my favorite kitchen tools!” says Levy, who swears by the flat whisk from Prepworks. “It’s great when you have skillet-based sauces and want to mitigate any potential breakage.”

If you don’t already have this versatile tool in your utensil crock or drawer (which it fits into very nicely, by the way), here’s a run-down. Flat whisks consist of metal loops that form a flat, spatula-like surface. They differ from the more common and whimsically-named balloon whisks, which work well for reaching into bowls and whipping egg whites and cream; French whisks are slightly narrower and longer, so they’re a little more maneuverable.

Pasta sauce isn’t a flat whisk’s only specialty. It’s great for any skillet sauce that involves the emulsification of wet and dry ingredients, since the flat edge allows you to scrape the entire surface of the pan — think gravies or the roux for a gumbo. Levy also recommends using this tool to whisk ingredients like eggs in a flat, shallow container for a breading station. Or you can use it to scramble eggs right in the skillet for a fried-egg scramble hybrid, or a “framble.”

Related: How to ​​Make Restaurant-Quality Pan Sauces

You won’t want to use a flat whisk in a bowl, or for whipping ingredients like egg whites or cream, but it’s a great two-in-one tool for plenty of other situations: It doubles as a spatula when you’re making pan sauces with a seared protein, and is a great alternative to a slotted spoon when you’re removing poached eggs from water. You can even use it in lieu of a fish spatula, since the slots allow the liquid to drain.

If you’re still not convinced, consider this testimonial from Levy. “It’s way easier to clean than a balloon whisk!”

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